Chapter 476: Enormous Gains (II)

“How many divisions are there in the Reserve Defenders?”

“Ten total, they are all full!”

That made for approximately one hundred fifty thousand people in one reserve troop, that was terrifying! Li Hao, Hong Yitang, and He Yong were currently just seeing the Ninth Division.

“That means there are more than one million in the Battle Heaven Army, but the city isn’t big enough for those numbers!” He Yong suggested. Battle Heaven was just the size of Silver City.

“This is the city in miniature,” Red Armor replied matter-of-factly. “There is a current lack of energy to power operations, so Battle Heaven has shrunk by a lot to improve defense.

“We spanned a large area before, what you see now is the city after it’s been folded upon itself. At its peak, the city contained fifty million people and one million soldiers. General Pagoda sat in residence within the city and twelve plant spirits were in charge of supplying energy. The city could take to the skies at any time to conduct battle from the air...”

The soldier pointed ahead. “Let’s set that aside, this is all in the past. Current day Battle Heaven is only so big! The Mission Hall is here, go and receive your missions. There should be someone here as some of the dead soldiers revived today...”

The trio was still reeling from what they’d just heard! An enormous city that could hold fifty million, one that could fly though the sky! Was... that still a city?? And it could shrink? It could fold upon itself? The more they knew, the more insignificant they felt! This city was a wondrous weapon!

Dazed, they wandered into the Mission Hall. It was a place populated by many service windows, but some were empty and others staffed by Red Armors lying on the ground, as if entirely dead. Only a few sparkled with light to indicate that they were still operating. A quick glance showed that four were operational out of at least one hundred.

It would seem that this city was indeed only partially awake. Some additional sections had opened today due to the number of people that’d died in the earlier battle. The trio walked toward a window sparkling with light.

When the Red Armor inside saw Li Hao, it rose with a salute. “Troop Leader!” It sat back down without waiting for a response, light dancing in its eyes. “Is the troop leader here to secure a mission?”

“Yes.” Li Hao nodded, despite the discomfort he felt at such treatment. “I would like to claim a mission that takes me out of the city, one with an indefinite time period. Do those still exist?”

“Yes, some missions have been active for a very long time without being canceled. They might’ve been forgotten or just continued to operate...” came the mechanical response. The soldier quickly brought out something that looked like a screen. “Troop Leader Li, there are three missions on here that meet your needs. You can choose one of them!”

Li Hao focused on his look.

“Mission one: Battle Heaven lacks sufficient life energy and the skies have overturned. The eight cities have lost contact with each other. One is to head to the other seven cities and reopen the life transmission system to restore communication between the eight cities and the flow of life energy. Reward: One hundred thousand merits!

“Mission two: the Forbidden Sea is flowing backward into Ash Mountain. Find the point of backflow and seal off the passageway. Reward: Ten thousand merits.

“Mission three: contact has been lost with Skystar Fortress of Skystar Island. The island is suspected to have been lost to the enemy. Travel to the island with due haste to ascertain the situation and restore communication. The energy mine of the fortress is not to fall into enemy hands. Reward: Ten thousand merits.”

Li Hao blinked rapidly when he read the missions.

Skystar Island? Ash Mountain? Hot damn, that’s a lot of familiar names. Skystar Dynasty... Our Ash Mountain... Are they related to these ancient records?

“Where is Skystar Island?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“In the depths of the sea!” answered the Red Armor handing out missions. “Skystar Island is an important energy base as there is an enormous energy mine there, overseen by the fortress! It is in charge of supplying energy stones to Battle Heaven and some of the other major cities. We lost contact with it in the initial days of celestial unrest. The men we sent to investigate never reported back. Perhaps they were ambushed by the enemy!”

He Yong hadn’t understood the missions—he paused at this moment. “Skystar Island... Skystar Fortress... Is this island... big?”

“Very big!” responded the Red Armor. “It sits over the enormous mine and is supplied with ample energy. It bears the duty of pacifying the seas with a garrison of one hundred thousand. It is a military town. If you accept this mission... It doesn’t matter anymore, but if you can find some clues... As useless as they might be, you should be rewarded with the relevant merits when you return.”

Hong Yitang didn’t care about this. “I recall that the ancient records state that the Goldensky Lotus grows in the Forbidden Sea. Is that true?”

“Correct!”

The trio lit up at the response. The valley of the severed mountain! They’d discovered a Goldensky Lotus there. Li Hao hadn’t understood the second mission at first; he regarded it anew. Was that valley the point of backflow? So the lake was actually seawater?

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“What is the Forbidden Sea?” the young man quickly asked.

“The sea!”

No shit!

Li Hao looked on wordlessly.

“It was formed in the primordial past when a powerhouse perished and their blood dripped into the sea. It corrodes everything within it, but was pacified when the Human King conquered the world. However, parts of the corrosive properties still remain...

“Which mission does Troop Leader Li wish to take?”

“Can we take all three?”

“......” The Red Armor checked its records. “You can!”

Li Hao held a bit of hope. What if he could complete the missions? It didn’t cost anything to accept them, so accept them he would. Three missions soon appeared in his visor. There were no time limits and the personnel selected were the trio. Every member of the Twelfth Company was to muster out!

The three wanted to ask more questions after they accepted the missions, but the soldier closed the window. Li Hao regarded it with resignation. Had it specifically opened for business just for them?

......

“This city likely hasn’t awakened properly because of a lack of energy.” Hong Yitang turned back for a look when they walked out of the hall. “Skystar Island... I wonder if Skystar Dynasty obtained some heritage from the island? Their Black Armaturas might be the soldiers left behind at the Skystar Fortress. If that’s the case... is the central region... an island?”

“It might be!” He Yong exclaimed. “Skystar Island... Skystar Dynasty... Is such a coincidence possible? An energy mine... what a pity that it probably doesn’t exist anymore even if it was there!

“But if the ruins of Skystar Fortress are still there... overseeing a massive mine... What the ancients termed enormous must be huge. How else could it support a big city like Battle Heaven? It must’ve had many reserves. I feel that the royal family has many mysterious power stones, but it hasn’t explored the ruins much. Can it be that they have the city instead?

“If that’s the case, then they’ll have many mysterious power stones and their strength will be much more fearsome than I anticipate!”

Skystar Fortress had been in charge of the entire island and housed the garrison that supplied energy stones. How much in reserves would a city like that contain? Not much energy would’ve been lost to time if they’d been stored in storage rings. Just the very thought was frightening.

“And there’s another seven cities out there... Li Hao, you’re rich, kid!”

“How am I rich?” Li Hao rolled his eyes at He Yong.

“Your family might have a city too—no, it must have one. You’re rich once you find it! You’re an outsider here, but you’re the young lord in your own city!”

Li Hao rolled his eyes again. That’s nonsense! Without sufficient strength, he would probably end up in the same straits if there were also armored soldiers present. He’d be sent flying with a punch and deemed too lowly for anything!

The trio felt that their worldviews had been broadened, and that everything they’d seen before was far too insignificant. A city that could house fifty million, that could fly and fight, and was staffed with one million soldiers was just one of eight! The weakest of their soldiers still possessed the equivalent of a modern Dominator. Then their Sunderers back in the day were likely a Dominator at minimum, correct?

There were one million such soldiers in the city and eight of them back in the day! Added to that a few small towns... It boggled the mind to consider how strong they would’ve all been. The ancients counted mysterious power stones in terms of mines, not stones. One mine here, one mine there... Just look at that, that was true wealth!

“If it’s possible, I would love to witness the glories of the ancient civilization!” He Yong sighed with appreciation. “With my strength, I would be a Silver Armor if there was more flexibility to the system in the ancient past, right?”

“......are you sure?” Hong Yitang asked meaningfully. “Those Silver Armor troop leaders are peak Nova or beyond when they awaken. That’s without a physical body too. How strong do you think they were back in the day?”

Alright then!

He Yong thought. “I may not be weaker than them when I unseal my supernatural locks!”

I hope so, at least!

“Enough, there’s no point discussing this. Let’s go. There’s another commander in residence at the barracks. We should keep our distance in case we irritate them and they punch us to death with one blow!”

The three headed outside of the barracks.

......

Panther was waiting at the doors. It hadn’t gone in earlier because the guards didn’t permit it. It looked like the dog wasn’t part of the military system. Perhaps someone else had given it benefits before.

Outside of the barracks.

“Where to now?” Li Hao looked at the two. “To the city lord manor? I wonder if that Gold Armor has returned yet... Does it want me there to give me something or another punch?”

He still had lingering fear from their last meeting. These fellows were very strong, even when dead. They probably really could’ve killed him with one punch when they were alive.